Obituary

Thelma Grace Peters, 90, passed away on Monday, November, 18, 2019. Thelma was born November 4, 1929, daughter of Fred Winn Reed and Alma Rosa Mewius-Reed. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, she has shared many stories about those days. She remembered the address to each house where she lived. Her parents remodeled the little one bedroom house she lived in prior to getting married, the night before her wedding they had an indoor bath room added, this being the first indoor bathroom she ever had. When it was too hot to sleep in their house, the family would take blankets to Swope Park and sleep outside under the stars. They walked to church, closest to their home, regardless of denomination. They also walked to school , the store, and to the bus stop if they needed to go downtown. While working as a cashier, Thelma met a short, little, red haired guy, and he asked if he could give her a ride home. She married George Robert Peters on May 15, 1949 at the Maywood Baptist Church in Independence, Missouri.

George and Thelma started a family with their oldest daughter Roberta Sue (her spouse Stacy Crider) born 11 months after their wedding. Two years later, a son, George Robert Peters Jr. (1952-2015) (his spouse Linda Kaye French) followed, two years after that, with a daughter, Linda Gayle Peters, two years later, a third daughter, Rhonda Marie (her husband Mike Phillips), and three years later, Russell Norman (his spouse Vickie Moon). Five children were simply a blessing to a woman told she would never have children. In October 1963, George decided he wanted to raise his children in the country. He bought 40 acres south of Belton, Missouri and a 2 bedroom house that did not have a bathroom. They all grew to love the quiet home in the country. The children learned so much about growing up as country kids, sharing, work ethic, and animals. They rode horses, fed the cows, collected eggs, rounded up pigs, and were chased by an old Banty Rooster. Thelma used everything on the farm to provide for her family. She learned to make jelly from grapes, peaches, and gooseberries, as well as pies and cobblers.

Thelma retired from Cotter & Co. in 1990. She and Bob loved to travel.

Thelma was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her son George Jr.

She was saved and a member of South Haven Baptist Church. Thelma leaves her 4 children, 10 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, her sister Doris Thomas and her spouse Ed, her brother in law Alvin Peters and his spouse Janis, her sister in law Alice Cotton, and many nieces and nephews to celebrate the life she lived.